Safety or Risk: The Scary Truth about Living a Faith without Borders

This is my dog Sydney. She LOVES to be outside. 

She explores our backyard like it is her vast wonderland, which it probably seems like for a 12 pound puppy dog. 

The fence in our yard is in need of just enough repair that she has some small windows in to what lies beyond her safe haven. She barks at the other dogs like she is much bigger than she is. She defends her turf when the neighbor is tending her garden. She owns her space and is bold. 

Enter the open door...

Sometimes when I go out front to take out trash or get the mail, I will invite her to go with me. She hesitantly stands at the front door, wanting so badly to go out with me and explore this strange new world - full of possibilities and new adventure. 

And yet she hesitates. No amount of coaxing will get her to budge.

Even though I will be right by her side and will not let anything happen to her, the great unknown is just a little to much for her. She is happy with her walls and fence and the safety and comfort they bring. 

And so, she stays. Safe in what she knows and missing out on all that she might discover if she just ventured out.

Today I feel a bit like Sydney. 

A few weeks ago I was comfortable with my life and my ministry. Great house. Wonderful family. All was well.  And then God saw fit to rock that boat a bit. 

He has seen fit to begin to break down my safe walls and opened the door to possibilities for my future that I did not know were there or would not have even considered just weeks ago. I hear Him asking me, nudging me, to follow Him and just trust. I know in my heart that He will never let me down and will always be by my side, and yet - I hesitate. Comfortable in the walls I have made for myself.

As He so often does, He spoke to me loudly through music this week. 

I have had this song, Oceans by Hillsong, on repeat for most of the last 2 days. The chorus is shouting at me and yet gently soothing my soul at the same time. It says this:

"Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders. Let me walk upon the waters wherever You would call me. Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander. And my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my Savior."

And so the decision is mine. I can stay where I am and wonder what greatness God has for me beyond the borders I have built for myself, or I can venture out to the unknown - firm in the knowledge that my faith WILL be made stronger in the presence of my Savior. 

I don't know about you - but I choose to walk forward in faith. Trusting God will lead and guide. That what He has for me through that open door is more than I could ever ask for or imagine. 


So what about you? Are you being called beyond your trust borders? Are you ready to go? What is holding you back?

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to him,

and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

I would love to hear from you. Shoot me your comments and let me know what you think. Share it with others as well and follow this blog for future thoughts and reflections. 

Need a Little Help Here

I haven't written in a while. I guess maybe because I have not had a lot to say. Usually I write when I read something in my quiet time that stirs my heart, or I feel God impressing something on me to share. Today I had one of those moments. 

I had dropped the last of the kids off at school for the day and I was on my way to work. This drive is not long, only about 5 minutes. I am a creature of habit (so I've been told) and I usually go the same route. Today was no different. On my drive I pass though mostly residential neighborhoods but don't usually come across many people - I guess because of the time of the morning, but today God wanted my attention.

On my way to work there is a section of road that has a hill, not a huge one in a car but for the little girl riding her bike to school, it was obvious it was a bit of a struggle. She was, in my estimation, probably about 7 or 8 and she was laden with a rather large back pack full of her school supplies which I am sure added to her struggle. Her father was riding his bicycle along side her to ensure her safety on their short journey. When he sensed her struggling, he came along side her on his bike and put his strong hand on the center of her backpack and just gave an extra bit of "umph" so that she could make it up the hill.

God had started the wheels turning. But if that one picture was not enough, I continued on a few more blocks and came across another little girl even smaller than the first one, also sporting a rather large backpack relative to her size. This one was trying desperately to get into her families SUV with little success. Once again, along came her father making ready her seat, and helped her achieve her goal.

Not one but two examples of the same thing within 2 minutes of each other. OK God, I get it.

What a beautiful reminder that when I struggle appears to be a steep hill in my life or come across what seems to be an impossible task, my Father in heaven is there right long side me to give me that extra push needed or to lift me up when I don't have the strength on my own.

Why do you say, Israel, 

“The Lord is not aware of what is happening to me,
My God is not concerned with my vindication”?

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is an eternal God,
the creator of the whole earth.
He does not get tired or weary;
there is no limit to his wisdom.

He gives strength to those who are tired;
to the ones who lack power, he gives renewed energy.

Even youths get tired and weary;
even strong young men clumsily stumble. 

But those who wait for the Lord’s help find renewed strength;
they rise up as if they had eagles’ wings,
they run without growing weary,
they walk without getting tired.

Isaiah 40:27-31

So are you like the little girls I saw today, needing a bit of extra help fro your Father to make it through? I know I am! The great thing is that He is faithful to give us the help if we will only ask. He is there right beside us, just waiting... 

Is Jesus Really All That Great?

Shocking title I know. That is kind of the point. The shock value of that statement made by someone who claims to love Jesus with all their heart is high. It was hard to even type it.  But as I read my Bible in the comfort of my home this morning, as I pour over my music that I will bring as an offering to the God I love so desperately this coming Sunday, this is the question that came to my mind.

Is Jesus really all that great? Because most of the time, we sure don't act like it. 

I was at a conference last week and heard the story of a woman (Christine Caine) who has been called to start a ministry to rescue other women from the sex trade. (more about A21 here) She told the horrific story of a girl who had been held captive and taken to another country for the purpose of working in a red light district. This girl was one of the few who even survived the journey. She was eventually rescued from the sex trade and brought to a safe house where she encountered Christine who told her about Jesus. 

Wonderful you might say! Well, yes it is wonderful. But the girls response? "If your Jesus is so great, why did it take you so long to get here?"

I heard another story from someone just getting back from a mission trip to the jungles of Africa (literally.) They went to tell people who had probably never of heard of Him, about Jesus. When speaking to one woman about Christ and His plan of salvation, they ask her if she would like to accept Him into her life and her Lord and Savior. Her response? "Yes! I have just been waiting for someone to come and tell me how."

For me, both of those stories bring deep sorrow and conviction because more often than not, I am the one who is taking to long or waiting to tell someone about my Jesus that they so desperately need. 

It seems such an obvious thing - share the one who saved your life with anyone around you who will listen. And yet we keep silent out of fear or embarrassment, or a host of other reason we have on a long list of bad ones. 

I don't know about you, but I am always eager to hear a great story. We are transfixed by the story on the news of the man who risked his life for a total stranger by pulling them out of a burning house. We stop what we are doing to listen to the story of the hero who foiled the armed robbery with a selfless act of bravery. If you were the one in those stories who was rescued - you would be more than willing to sing the praises of your hero to anyone who would listen out of gratitude. Right?

I had the privilege of being a part of the filming of  of some awesome stories last week. Stories that made me laugh and made me cry (always the sign of a good story - right?) Stories of people whose lives have been saved. Stories of people who had no hope and now do. I am so very grateful that they decided to share their stories with me. 

Each of us has a story. I look at my story compared to some and tend to minimize the value of it because in my eyes, it is not as dramatic as some. I am coming to find that thinking that thought is toxic to me and those that God has put in my life. Just because I was not rescued from the sex trade or some other tragic situation does not minimize my story of redemption. I am a sinner, saved from a future that I surely deserved, given the gift eternal life with my Jesus forever.

I say that I believe that Jesus is "all that great" but when I hide his redemptive work in my life by not telling my story, I have to ask myself if I really believe that. 

Someone needs to hear my story because it will speak to them and maybe, just maybe show them that what they need in their life is Jesus. So I will speak my story boldly and ask God to use it for His glory. 

What is your story? It is the most important story that someone will hear for the one who needs YOU to tell it to them. 

Tell your story to someone today, they might have been waiting for you!

The Friendship and The Fear

Yesterday was a typical Sunday. Full of church and work and worship and fellowship with other artist/worshipers as we sat in the room back stage waiting for our time to once again take the stage to lead the congregation in song. What happens in that room during our "down time" is a mystery to most and each week is very different, depending on the characters that are appear (and I do mean characters!) Lot's of bonding and conversation takes place over 6 hours of on and off the stage. 

At one point yesterday, the conversation turned to a song called Friend of God. Now, no offense to the writer, but that is a song that I can hardly stomach singing. The version of it that most people hear is to me - very "bubble gum." I feel that it shows only the "hey let's go fishing together, or to the mall" side of God. One participant in the conversation made a statement something to the effect of "lots of people come to church and need to see that side of God." I assume this is because they only hear about the wrath side of Him from a non-churched person's perspective. 

The conversation continued down that line for just a bit and while I agree to a certain extent that everyone who comes to God needs to know that He is desires to be their friend and have them come to Him with any and everything in their lives, most people forget that He is also to be feared as seen by David's mistake referenced in my previous blog post. 

I always find it humorous when I have a conversation and shortly there after God brings something to my attention in scripture that adds something to the conversation (a true picture of a friend I suppose.) This morning in my reading I read this:

Psalm 25:12-14 Who is the man who fears the Lord? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land. The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.

For me, the highlighted verse nails it on the head! How can you have a friendship with someone you do not KNOW and how can you KNOW GOD and not fear Him? They go hand in hand.  If I have just met someone, I would not normally consider them my friend, only an acquaintance. To be a true friend, it takes relationship and to build relationship you have to spend time getting to really know that person. 

In my lifetime, I have had very few people that I would consider friends in the deepest sense of the word. A friendship takes work, it takes time, it takes giving more than you get sometimes, it takes honesty, it takes love and all that takes effort. But when that occurs - you have something very precious and oh how I long to have that kind of friendship with my maker.

Several years ago a singer/song writer named Matt Redman came on the Christian music scene. Most of you would know his as the writer of The Heart of Worship. I had occasions to hear him speak and not only learn from his leading as a worshiper but as a God follower. His heart is one that is not found very often. I imagine him like King David - a man after God's own heart. He wrote a song called The Friendship and The Fear. The lyrics of the song are rich and so I leave you to ponder them today and ask yourself these - On the friendship scale, have much to you give compared to how much you gain? Do you fear the Lord, I mean really fear Him? If you struggle with how to answer these questions, then join me in the ever present quest to know Him better. If you could answer them to your satisfaction fairly easily, then I would challenge you by saying I don't think you KNOW Him as well as you think you do.

VERSE 1:
Show me the way of the cross once again
Denying myself for the love that I've gained
Everything's You now, everything's changed,
It's time You had my whole life;
You can have it all.

CHORUS:

I resolve to give it all;
Some things must die,
Some things must live.
Not, "What can I gain,"
But, "What can I give?"
If much is required when much is received,
Then You can have my whole life;
Jesus, have it all.

VERSE 2:
I've given like a beggar but lived like the rich
And crafted myself a more comfortable cross,
Yet what I am called to is deeper than this,
It's time You had my whole life;
You can have it all.